Movie of the Week (February 19th 2014)

Less than two weeks to go until the big day we’ve all been waiting for, and I am very excited. This week I am going to again showcase a great movie that was never nominated for an Oscar.

This movie is often considered one of the greatest heist films of all time. It has a cast that includes Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer, and Jon Voight.

I am talking, of course, about Heat.

Michael Mann had previously made this as a TV movie called L.A. Takedown in 1989, but 6 years later, Heat made its way onto the big screen.

This was one of those movies that my brother introduced me to that has always stuck with me. I remember watching it one summer night and being blown away. I think I had heard about it in a Dane Cook joke before, but I am not quite sure, you know when he was kinda sort of funny?

Anyway, Robert DeNiro plays a bank-robber, Al Pacino plays the cop who is after him. This could be one of the greatest cat-and-mouse rivalries in all of movie history. It was the first time the two had ever appeared on the screen at the same time. They did share one movie about 30 years earlier, I think you probably have heard of it: The Godfather Part II. However, those who know that must also know that their characters were in two different time-periods with DeNiro playing the young Vito Corleone.

The movie has some great scenes, particularly the main bank heist, but most importantly the scene between DeNiro and Pacino. I won’t spoil anything, but it is a phenomenal scene, one that audiences had been waiting decades to see.

Check Heat out. It is close to 3 hours, so please set aside an afternoon or evening and see a great action movie, one that established a great director and also further cemented two of the greatest actors of all time.